Dream and focus on where you are going; not where you have been or what your mind says is possible....

Dream and focus on where you are going; not where you have been or what your mind says is possible....

One of the most profound lessons I am consolidating recently, is that of how to achieve things we are unsure we can achieve; things we don't want to entertain unless we know we can definitely have them; outcomes that bring up many fears and doubts, so much so that we are often paralysed into inaction.

Many of you will understand what I am talking about.

It seems that I have been learning this lesson over quite some time, yet I feel in the past few days, a quick succession of learning’s have landed my way and really lead to that "ah-ha!" experience; the moment it all falls into place.

Now I will relate my insights to a very common scenario that many of my clients face; the goal of weight loss, or simply improved health, fitness and vitality.
Daily I work with clients on similar natured goals. Over and over I see and feel the very same pattern.

A person, somewhere within them, has a dream of how they want their body/health/life to be....just a flicker of a flame to begin with...so they come to me...seeking kindling to add to their flame, in the hope it will start to build a fire...
What they experience during their time with me is certainly an overload of sticks, logs and material to add to their fire....The fire, the outcome, they desire they see is definitely possible....yet their flame fails to grow....

Self-doubt is a stifling force...like a power that wets the sticks and logs before they even get the opportunity to be lit....

During a consult their mind goes between thoughts of "Yes I can do it...here is my evidence...Bridget is giving me heaps of proof it is possible" to "no.....that would work for others but not for me....I am too old, too lazy; I have always been overweight; my mum is overweight; it’s too hard to achieve that outcome in MY circumstances; it is different for me; I am different; I’ve never done it before or if I have it was under different circumstances; I have proven because of where I am now that I cannot do it..."….Or other similar internal dialogue.

The fears set in...."What will working towards this goal mean? How will I possibly be able to do it? How can I give up my weekends with my friends? What will that mean? I hate exercise; I can't do it; it's too hard; people will laugh at me, it’s too hot, too uncomfortable..."etc

Fears, as well as conflicts between a vision and the part of a person that does not trust their natural ability to achieve an outcome lead to feelings of helplessness and defeat, OR to attempts that are so rigid, controlling and difficult, that the person is most certain to bring about the things that live in their mind most of the time.... .... (failing; NOT achieving their outcome)

Does this make sense?

So when we are attached to an outcome- e.g. our dream body/health; yet we do not really believe we can achieve it (doubt/conflict); we allow the pervading visions in our mind to be those that represent the things we fear; when we are scared we REACT and try to CONTROL, for example, "I have been BAD, I MUST exercise tonight! I MUST eat a healthy dinner, I MUST NOT have any chocolate, lollies or ice-cream" etc.....This attempt to control and manipulate our way to the outcome we have fixed in our mind automatically leads to struggle....

As humans we automatically resist, resent and fight restrictions and rules...we are not mechanical beings, we are sensory and intuitive beings....when we try to operate in a mechanical manner and see ourselves as a separate object that can be forced, instructed and manipulated we undermine our true auto-ability to achieve anything our heart desires without knowing HOW....just by feeling, trusting, sensing and listening to ourselves.....

When we do not TRUST ourselves, believe in our UNTAPPED potential and continue to draw expectations and ideas about WHO we are and WHAT we can achieve based on evidence from the PAST, then we lock ourselves into a perpetual paradigm from which we can never really escape...each attempt is merely an opportunity to realise that some profound and fundamental changes must occur in the way we view the world, ourselves and what is possible, in order to achieve that thing we never have, go somewhere we've never been....how can we KNOW how to get there if we've never been...???

We can't....we must simply let go of our pre-conceived ideas of WHO we are WHAT is possible and step into a new realm of unknown where we CAN be anyone we choose, we CAN do anything we WANT and we CAN have anything we desire....only when we open up and expand our mind that anything is possible; only when we first completely disorientate and lose ourselves....can we become one with our vision of where we want to go, who we want to be....and drive ourselves there with simple, yet untamed, excitement, open-minded possibility and flexible desire.

We must block out our own and others ideas of "how it is" and believe the impossible....after all...how would people like Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, President Obama, Richard Branson, Lance Armstrong, Michael Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, and countless, dynamically different others, ever gotten where they have? Achieved what they have?

There is always a first. There are always miracles....

Believe in your dreams...only YOU can light the sticks and logs that build your fire.....they are all around and available...you just need to light them with your belief and TRUST....forget HOW, just know WHAT you want....

Focus on where you are going, see challenges as opportunities to learn, be flexible in your approach and never take your eye off the target!!!

I believe in you all!

I have MANY examples of clients who have, and ARE, doing this! Visit www.newleafnutrition.com.au to see examples of such SUCCESS STORIES, as well as http://bridgetjaneguru.blogspot.com for LIVE, up-to-date journeys…Rex, Lida, Brad, Jodie, Nicky, Tom, Cassie, and MANY more! You are ALL living examples and sparks of inspiration…..thank you and continue to believe in yourself! It is the KEY 

Have a sensational day people!
Mwah! xoxoxoxo

BridgetJane
Food Body Lifestyle Guru
Writer, Speaker, Consultant
www.newleafnutrition.com.au
http://bridgetjaneguru.blogspot.com
http://bridgetthompson.blogspot.com
http://bridget-jane.blogspot.com
Mob 0421332243
Sunshine Coast, QLD
"Your health is everything...Discover your TRUE health potential"

I would like to acknowledge William Whitecloud author of "The Magician's Way" for last night consolidating my learning’s and allowing me to realise that not always having the answers, feeling completely lost and disorientated at times, is a normal and in fact necessary part of growth and creating dreams you were unsure were possible, but certain you must have. Thank-you you truly magical and inspiring being! Amazing! xoxoxo

Everything is in Perfect Balance

Below is taken exactly from a newsletter I receive from a friend and colleague who is a Fitness Professional, yet like myself, avidly committed to self-development for the purpose of bettering not only himself, but also to be able to give so much more to his clients.

Matt Collins is truly a fantastic guy with a heart of gold. I will put his contact details, including his website below. If you like what you read, you too can subscribe to his weekly newsletter. It always has great stories, ideas and information, related to not only fitness, but also self-development, and life in general :)

Enjoy. Thanks Matt :)


"I am currently reading a book by a wealth creator, Peter Spann.
What I want to talk about though is not related to finances but how the universe works in funny ways.
A little background on the story:
Peter’s father is gravely ill with throat
cancer and it looks likes he will die.
Well, long story short, his father
beats the cancer but I want to share
with you what happens next.
The following is an excerpt directly
from the book:
In the ensuing months we spent a lot
of time together, and when we
couldn’t be together we talked on the
phone.
I learnt all about my father, a man I
lived with all my life but had never
known, and he learnt about me. I
discovered he wanted a little farm so
he could grow fresh produce for his
cooking, and that he always wanted
to own a Mercedes Benz.
It wasn’t long before I couldn’t
neglect things at work for much
longer and so we were left to catch
up by phone.
One night, as I was just about to
hang up, he caught me and said,
“Son” – I had never heard him call
me that before, and I was so
surprised I almost missed what he
said next – “I just want you to know
that I love you”
“I love you too, Dad,” I said. “Talk to
you soon!”
As I hung up, it occurred to me that
was the first time we had ever said
“I love you” to one another.

That was the last time we would
ever speak.

In a strange twist of fate, my father
fell over in the bathtub one night
and hit his head. The aneurysm
killed him just before I got to the
hospital.

At the funeral, I chatted with one of
my father’s friends:
“Peter,” he said, “I have learnt to
take each day as it comes. I am
grateful just to wake up each day. I
know losing your father hurts, and
it’s unfair how it happened, but
imagine what would have
happened if he hadn’t got cancer –
he’d be dead now and you would
never have got to know him, and he
would never have got to know you.
He would have gone to the grave
with him still anger at you and you
still resenting him. What a gift that
disease was for both of you.

Peter continues to explain the story
but I wanted to finish with the
summary he uses for that chapter:

Every event, good and bad, is
part of our path. Challenge
creates the character we need to
fulfill our dreams. Everything is
in perfect balance.

I hope you got something out of
Peter’s story. I certainly did!

Have a great week!"

Matt Collins
fatburners health and fitness
www.fatburners.com.au
0408 019 569
matt@fatburners.com.au

BridgetJane
Food Body Lifestyle Guru
Writer, Speaker, Consultant
www.newleafnutrition.com.au
http://bridgetthompson.blogspot.com
http://bridget-jane.blogspot.com
http://bridgetjaneguru.blogspot.com


Mob 0421332243
Sunshine Coast, QLD

"Your health is everything...Discover your TRUE health potential"

Finish Strong! Great Mantra for 09

I am incredibly fortunate to have some of the greatest friends in the world (thank you to all of you xo).....

and occassionally they send me some incredible material that really inspires and constantly provides perspective in an often hectic and hard-going world.....

This is something I received today from one of those amazing friends (thank you Piet xo).

I thought it very valuable to share with all of you, especially given it is a BRAND NEW year and a fantastic opportunity to START FRESH and cultivate a whole new MIND SET and attitude to life....or simply to refresh and build upon an already sensational attitude and outlook :)


I hope you enjoy it! It is quite short...in fact left me wanting to know more about this amazing and incredibly inspiring man...

http://www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html


Would LOVE to hear your thoughts :)

Email me at bridget@newleafnutrition.com.au OR send an INSTANT REQUEST through my website at www.newleafnutrition.com.au


Hope you are all settling into this awesome New Year and optimistic about the incredible possibilities within your reach...

Sincerely,


Bridget-Jane
xoxoxoxoxo

PS- More information on Nick can be found at http://www.attitudeisaltitude.com/store-nicksstory.php?detectqt=false&

Incredible guy!

No Pressure, No Diamonds

It is truly amazing how the universe works....This morning I awoke to read a chapter on Perturbation (from Kurek Ashley's "How would Love respond?" See http://www.kurekashley.com/)- the experience of pushing through challenges on the path to our goals.

Pushing through challenges causes us to learn new strategies, skills, perceptions and ultimately, take new actions. This enables a new and more improved "us" to be created; a person who is closer to achieving the goals we have set ourselves. I will explain more in a moment...

I was compelled to share this idea with one of my clients in particular so I immediately got up to head to my computer to write her an email..As I opened my Outlook to begin typing this message I received my daily inspirational quote (thank you Tracy- see http://www.inspireyourday.com.au/), which today was...

"No pressure, no diamonds." - Thomas Carlyle Then it occurred to me that I had learned a similar lesson so not so long ago- stretch, struggle, succeed...(thank you George, see http://www.reddaycoaching.com/) :)

I knew then I had to share this concept on a larger scale- with all those I care about- as every day we ALL face challenges.... and no doubt we ALL have great big dreams that require us to break through challenges, feel uncomfortable, face our fears, if we are to reach those goals and dreams...This is a truly scary and uncomfortable process- so much so, that often we wish and look for quick, easy ways to get to where we want to go...Consider however, the ultimate disservice we do to ourselves when we wish for, and perhaps opt for, these seemingly more easy and effortless choices....and how in the long run, at best we may end up back where we started, or worse, further behind than we began....

I love the analogy of a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon...When the time comes for a butterfly to leave its cocoon, many hours of struggling and fighting occur....slowly, over a long time, small pieces of the cocoon are broken away...At the start, there is only a tiny hole, much too small for the butterfly to break through...the butterfly must continue its fight, continue to struggle, slowly but surely making the hole bigger and bigger over time...If we see this struggle, we may be compelled to intervene, thinking, “That poor butterfly, it's never going to get out”. We may for example find a knife to cut away the rest of the cocoon, to help the butterfly be free. Let's say we do this..The butterfly will emerge instantly! It will be free of its fight and struggle...Yet there will be something not quite right about this butterfly...it will have a swollen body and tiny, shrivelled up wings...it will crawl along the ground, unable to fly... ever... It will never live the life intended for it..

What we miss here is that the struggle the butterfly goes through to free itself of its restrictive cocoon, is an absolutely necessary process required for the fluid in its body to be forced into its wings...In this way, once the butterfly finally emerges from its cocoon, its wings will be developed enough to support its body and carry it through the air into the life it was intended for...So I urge you today and everyday to reflect on your goals...

"What is it that I want most?”Consider then 3 things you can do to move towards this goal...baby steps...progress not perfection...And when you come up against challenges....when you start to fear....get excited! Move forward through these....push through, keeping your head high.... gracefully and gratefully accept the lessons they offer....for it is only when we STRETCH ourselves, that we can encounter the STRUGGLE, which makes us grow, learn new skills and then...experience SUCCESS.....!

If the butterfly story doesn't do it for you, consider someone who wins the lottery...if this person struggled financially before their big win, the statistics tell us they are likely to end up back where they started, or worse off. In fact some end up bankrupt...How is that?...Without the learning of the skills required to handle large sums of money (which if they already had would mean they would likely have more money in their lives to begin with), they spend recklessly and make poor choices...Alternatively, in struggling towards a better financial position, we learn valuable skills that mean when we do “hit the jackpot” we are well equipped to know how to best manage money, thereby creating more money and following an UPWARD spiral, rather than a downfall...

So, the message here is that the only SUSTAINABLE way towards the rewards we desire, is through facing challenges, fears and discomfort...the bigger the seeming struggle, the bigger the success....So, to all of you out there....move forward with courage and determination knowing that feeling uncomfortable is good! It is taking you towards bigger and better things!

“Smooth sailing never makes for an experienced captain”

And....

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result” –Albert Einstein

Of course, I feel this message and story applies perfectly to the journey of moving towards better health and fitness...

Many of us are tempted to seek out quick fixes...there are so many...!

Before you embark on another quick fix, or another too-good-to-be true offer...please reflect on today's message :)

****if you like this artcile and would like to stay in touch, go to my website and subscribe to my free monthly newsletter wwww.newleafnutrition.com.au *****

Love to hear from any of you :)
xoxo
BridgetJaneFood, Body, Lifestyle Guru
bridget@newleafnutrition.com.au
0421332243
http://www.newleafnutrition.com.au/